Bangladesh’s road to semi-finals hinges on India and West Indies clashes
The junior tigresses will compete in Group 1 of the Super Six, which comprises six teams: India, Australia, Sri Lanka, Scotland, West Indies, and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh have advanced to the Super Six stage of the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup after a commendable group-stage performance, where they defeated Nepal and Scotland but lost to Australia.
However, their next challenge is clear: to qualify for the semi-finals, the Junior Tigresses must overcome India and the West Indies in their two Super Six matches.
Why only two matches?
Bangladesh will compete in Group 1 of the Super Six, which comprises six teams: India, Australia, Sri Lanka, Scotland, West Indies, and Bangladesh.
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This group was formed by merging Group A and Group D from the earlier stage. However, tournament rules dictate that teams will not face opponents they played against in the group stage, nor will group winners compete against winners from other groups. Similarly, group runners-up will not face other runners-up.
In the group stage, Bangladesh finished as runners-up in Group D with two wins, behind Australia, who were the group champions.
In Group A, India topped the table, while Sri Lanka secured the runners-up spot. As a result, Bangladesh are set to face India, the champions of Group A, and West Indies, who finished third in that group.
They will not face Sri Lanka or Australia, as those matches are excluded by the tournament structure.
What's at stake in the super six?
Winning both matches against India and the West Indies will be crucial, but it will not automatically guarantee Bangladesh a place in the semi-finals.
Points from the group stage also carry forward into the Super Six, but only those earned against teams that advanced to this stage.
Currently, Bangladesh sit fourth in the Group 1 table with two points, carried over from their victory against Scotland.
India and Australia lead the table with four points each, both having won against other Super Six qualifiers. Sri Lanka are in third place with two points and a net run rate of +0.525, slightly ahead of Bangladesh's +0.425.
This means that, beyond securing victories, Bangladesh will also need to improve their net run rate to overtake Sri Lanka, while hoping for favourable outcomes in other matches.
The Super Six stage begins on 25 January, with Bangladesh set to face India on 26 January and the West Indies on 28 January.
